Written Answers Thursday 12 January 2006

Scottish Executive

Birds

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications it has received for licences to kill sparrowhawks and buzzards in each month since the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 came into force.

Rhona Brankin: Since 1 October 2004, the number of applications received to kill the above species, month by month, has been as follows:

  

Month
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard


October 2004
 
 


November 2004
 
 


December 2004
 
1


January 2005
 
1


February 2005
 
 


March 2005
 
2


April 2005
 
 


May 2005
 
 


June 2005
1
1


July 2005
1
 


August 2005
1
3


September 2005
 
1


October 2005
 
 


November 2005
 
 


December 2005
1

Birds

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences it has issued to kill sparrowhawks and buzzards in each month since the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 came into force.

Rhona Brankin: Since 1 October 2004, no licences have been issued to kill sparrowhawks. The number of licences issued to kill buzzards, month by month, is given in the following table. All the licences listed below were issued for the purpose of the preservation of air safety.

  

Month
No. of Licences Issued to Kill Buzzards


October 2004
 


November 2004
 


December 2004
1


January 2005
1


February 2005
 


March 2005
1


April 2005
 


May 2005
 


June 2005
1


July 2005
 


August 2005
 


September 2005
 


October 2005
 


November 2005
1


December 2005

Concessionary Travel

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Minister for Environment and Rural Development has had with the Minister for Transport concerning the impact that provision for the use of private cars and taxis under the Scottish Concessionary Travel Scheme would have within rural areas.

Ross Finnie: I was content with the Minister of Transport’s proposition to introduce the Scottish Concessionary Travel Scheme but I have had no discussions with the Minister for Transport on the specific points raised in the question.

Education

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has had in each year since 2000 to eradicate gender stereotyping in schools.

Peter Peacock: The Executive is committed to addressing gender inequalities and stereotyping in Scottish schools. As well as the initiatives listed, we continue to monitor relevant gender data in publications such as Destinations of Leavers from Scottish Schools (2003-04) (Bib. number 34816) and SQA Attainment and School Leaver Qualifications in Scotland (2003-04) (Bib. number 36264).

  

Year
Initiative


2000
The Executive funded publication of An Equal Opportunities Guide for Parents (Bib. number 38570) which highlighted the issue of gender stereotyping and stressed the importance of changing traditional attitudes to gender roles and curriculum areas.


2001
Publication of Executive Research on Gender and Pupil Performance (Interchange 70; Bib. number 16412) which referred to changing gender stereotypes and attitudes.


2003
A major international conference was held in March 2003. It focussed on science education in schools in order to help breakdown some of the gender stereotyping which is prevalent. 


2004
The report of the Physical Education (PE) Review Group noted there had been a drop in PE participation of teenage girls. This gender pattern is confirmed in other UK wide research. This is an area which is also being considered within the on-going curriculum review. 


2005
The final report of research on Strategies Used to Address Gender Inequalities in Scottish Schools (the follow-up to Interchange 70 in 2001) is imminent. Issues around vocational education paths and stereotyping will be in it.

Emergency Services

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many decontamination tents are available to public bodies, including local authorities, in the event of a major contamination incident, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Ambulance Service has eight mobile decontamination units manned by specialist teams that would deploy to an incident. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have six mass decontamination units; an additional two units will be operational early in 2006.

  It is not possible to provide information on a local authority basis as all decontamination equipment held by the emergency services is mobile and any response to a decontamination incident would be Scotland wide. Dependent on the incident, resources could also be called upon from England and Wales on a mutual aid basis.

Emergency Services

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people per hour can be processed through decontamination tents by emergency services and local authority personnel in the event of a major contamination incident, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: Responsibility for the decontamination of casualties rests with NHSScotland. However, this is devolved to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) who, subject to operational requirements, may devolve operational responsibility for provision of mass decontamination to the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS).

  The number of casualties who can be processed through SAS facilities is dependent on the nature of the casualty. Up to 200 ambulant people per hour can be processed through FRS decontamination units.

  It is not possible to provide information on a local authority basis as all decontamination equipment held by the emergency services is mobile and any response to a decontamination incident would be Scotland wide. Resources could also be called upon from England and Wales.

Environment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21279 by Mr Andy Kerr on 12 December 2005, which local authority areas have been identified as having low air quality standards as defined in the Air Quality Strategy since the Environment Act 1995 came into force.

Rhona Brankin: The following table lists the local authorities which have declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). Declaration follows air quality review and assessment work indicating that the Air Quality Strategy objectives for these pollutants are at risk of not being achieved by the due dates.

  The authorities concerned are addressing the issues identified through air quality action plans.

  

Authority
Date AQMA Declared
Location
Pollutants
Pollutant Source
Action Plan


Aberdeen City Council
June 2001
city centre
NO2, PM10
Transport
In place


City of Edinburgh Council
December 2000
city centre
NO2
Transport
In place


East Dunbartonshire Council
December 2005
Bishopbriggs
NO2, PM10
Transport
Not yet in place


Falkirk Council
October 2005
Grangemouth 
SO2
Industry
Not yet in place


Glasgow City Council
January 2002
city centre
NO2
Transport
In place


North Lanarkshire Council
December 2005
Chapelhall, Coatbridge, Motherwell
PM10
Transport
Not yet in place



  Notes:

  NO2: nitrogen dioxide.

  PM10: particles.

  SO2: sulphur dioxide.

  Dundee City Council (city centre) Perth and Kinross Council (Perth town centre) and Renfrewshire Council (Paisley) have also identified a need to declare AQMAs, but the declaration process is not yet complete.

Environment

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of the strategic framework for aquaculture, referred to in paragraph 9.15 of Choosing Our Future: Scotland’s Sustainable Development Strategy , commenced and when the Executive expects to revise the framework as a result of the review.

Rhona Brankin: The Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture and associated action plan are continuously reviewed and updated by the Ministerial Working Group on Scottish Aquaculture. This process has sustainability as an overarching principle and will be the subject of a fundamental review by 2008.

Fly-Tipping

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is addressing any increased levels of fly-tipping in Glasgow, especially after the Christmas period.

Rhona Brankin: Tackling fly-tipping in Glasgow is a matter for the relevant bodies. Local authorities and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency can require the removal of illegally dumped waste or remove it themselves. They act within a national framework of law and guidance.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Mr Andy Kerr: Continuous discussions take place between the Executive and all health boards on a whole range of issues throughout the year.

  I and the senior management team of the Scottish Executive Health Department met with the chairman and senior management team of NHS Ayrshire and Arran on 16 August 2005 for the 2004-05 NHS annual review. I chaired the review to hold the board publicly to account for their performance in the planning and provision of health services for the people of Ayrshire and Arran.

Health

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether increased health service investment is helping to improve services.

Lewis Macdonald: Yes. Health services and patient care are improving. Waiting time targets are being met. Deaths from cancer, heart disease and stroke are coming down. People are living longer. There remain some real challenges to be met, and we will continue to increase investment in order to continue to improve both health services and health outcomes for patients.

Health

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to protect accident and emergency staff in hospitals.

Mr Andy Kerr: Violence and aggression towards any NHSScotland staff is unacceptable. NHSScotland employers take a variety of measures to protect staff based on risk. This can range from withdrawal of treatment to increased security at busy times.

Health

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has monitored the delivery of GP out-of-hours cover in the Highlands following the introduction of the new GP contracts.

Mr Andy Kerr: We have and continue to monitor the performance of NHS Highland in the provision of out-of-hours cover, as part of wider monitoring arrangements for all NHS boards.

  As well as the Health Department monitoring NHS boards’ overall performance through the Performance Assessment Framework and the annual Accountability Review, the national General Medical Services Out-of-Hours Working Group tracks the progress of out-of-hours services. In addition, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) also monitors the delivery of out-of-hours standards across all NHS boards.

Legislation

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are being made to modernise succession law as proposed and consulted on by the Scottish Law Commission in 1990.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Law Commission’s current programme of law reform, to cover the period to the end of 2009, includes an updated project on the law of inheritance. Work has begun and a discussion paper is due to be published during the course of 2006. We will consider the report carefully when it is available.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if Glasgow is successful in securing the 2014 Commonwealth Games, it considers that there will be a similar benefit to all of the United Kingdom that Her Majesty’s Government considers that there will be by virtue of London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is committed to working with UK government departments to ensure continued support for Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games 2014 bid. The Commonwealth Games is not as large an event as the Olympics. Whilst it is difficult to quantify the benefits to the UK at this stage it is possible that the UK will accrue similar benefits on a smaller scale.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if it believes that a successful bid by Glasgow to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games will have a UK-wide benefit, it considers that it would be equitable for Her Majesty’s Government to either create a Commonwealth Games lottery or make the newly-created Olympics Games lottery a joint Olympic-Commonwealth Games lottery.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-18526 on 5 September 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17794 by Patricia Ferguson on 3 August 2005, how it was in a position to support London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games without undertaking an independent and detailed assessment of the costs and benefits to Scotland of the Games beforehand.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive was proud to support London’s bid to bring the Olympics to the UK in 2012.

  The benefits to a nation from hosting the Olympic Games are well established. It can lead to increased participation in sport, better health and increased national confidence.

  The Scottish Executive is committed to working with LOCOG and other UK government departments to maximise the potential benefits to Scotland from the Games.

  Scotland is well placed to assess the costs and benefits of the London Olympics through membership of the Nations and regions group, London 2012. A Scottish steering group for London 2012 will meet for the first time in January 2006.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17566 by Patricia Ferguson on 18 July 2005, what the reasons are for its position that the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games "could feasibly only be staged in London" rather than anywhere else in the United Kingdom.

Patricia Ferguson: Previously both Birmingham and Manchester have produced bids to stage the Olympic Games. The feedback received by the UK government from the International Olympic Committee after the failure of those bids was that the IOC would only consider a bid from London. This was due to London’s status as a world city, the infrastructure that was already in place and its transport and travel links.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17563 by Patricia Ferguson on 18 July 2005, whether it will be making estimates at any stage as to how much additional growth the Scottish economy will accrue as a direct result of London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.

Patricia Ferguson: All efforts to maximise the economic, social and cultural benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games to Scotland will be co-ordinated through the Scottish Steering Group for London 2012 which will meet for the first time in January 2006. It will be part of the remit of that group to monitor the potential beneficial effects on the Scottish economy.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17794 by Patricia Ferguson on 3 August 2005, whether it has ruled out undertaking an independent and detailed assessment of the costs and benefits to Scotland of the 2012 Olympic Games being hosted in London.

Patricia Ferguson: There are no plans to undertake such an assessment at this time.

  Scotland is well placed to assess the costs and benefits of the London Olympics through membership of the Nations and Regions group, London 2012. The Scottish steering group for London 2012 will meet for the first time in January 2006 and will work to maximise the benefits to Scotland of London 2012.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-17566 and S2W-17792 by Patricia Ferguson on 18 July and 5 August 2005, how it can justify its position of believing that Scotland will benefit from London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, given that the report of the impact study into the Games, undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, indicates that whilst London’s economy can expect to gain some £5.9 billion, there will be a displacement effect on the rest of the UK economy which will be some £2.8 billion worse off than if the Games were held elsewhere.

Patricia Ferguson: The findings of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report are based on what will happen if no action is taken. The UK and Scottish Governments are committed to ensuring that the benefits of London 2012 are spread across the UK. The main route for this is through the Nations and Regions Group where Julia Bracewell, chair of  sportscotland, is the Scottish representative. It will be through Nations and Regions that we will work to ensure that Scotland can maximise the benefits that could accrue from the London 2012 Olympics. The Scottish steering group for London 2012, whose aim is to ensure the maximum benefits for Scotland, is meeting for the first time in January 2006.

Parliamentary Questions

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the quality of its answers to written questions received from MSPs.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Ministerial Code sets out clearly the responsibilities on ministers to Parliament and to the wider public. In line with the code, responsibility for the content of answers to written questions from MSPs rests with the minister issuing each reply.

Planning

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many responses it has received to the consultation on the proposed Beauly to Denny transmission line and, of these, how many have been in support of, and how many against, the line.

Allan Wilson: As of 9 January 2006 the Executive had recorded 36 responses of support and 9,047 objections to the proposed overhead transmission line from Beauly to Denny. A considerable number of further responses, estimated to be in the region of 9,000, have still to be recorded.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the main barriers to eliminating poverty under the devolution settlement.

Malcolm Chisholm: We do not consider there to be any barriers to eliminating poverty caused by the devolution settlement. We are committed, in partnership with the UK Government, to tackling poverty and deprivation throughout Scotland and, specifically, to eliminating child poverty by 2020.

  Poverty is only partly about low income; it also encompasses a lack of opportunity, facing barriers to participating in social and economic life, and access to appropriate and affordable public services.

  That is why, through our Closing the Opportunity Gap (CtOG) approach, we want to:

  -prevent individuals and families from falling into poverty;

  -provide routes out of poverty for individuals and families, and

  -sustain individuals and families in a lifestyle free from poverty.

  Through co-ordinated action across all of the Executive’s departments and agencies, and working with our partners, we are making good progress – although we recognise that there is much more still to do.

  Over 210,000 children have been lifted from absolute poverty since 1997, reducing absolute child poverty from 33% to 15% – a reduction of 56%.

  Over 110,000 children have been lifted from relative poverty since 1997, reducing relative child poverty from 33% to 25% – a reduction of 30%.

  Over 190,000 pensioners have been lifted from absolute poverty since 1997, reducing absolute pensioner poverty from 30% to 8% – a reduction of 73%.

  Over 100,000 pensioners have been lifted from relative poverty since 1997, reducing relative pensioner poverty from 30% to 18% – a reduction of 38%.

  Over 220,000 working age adults have been lifted from absolute poverty since 1997, reducing absolute working age poverty from 20% to 13% – a reduction of a third.

  Over 60,000 working age adults have been lifted from relative poverty since 1997, reducing relative working age poverty from 20% to 18% – a reduction of 10%.

  We currently have one of the highest employment rates in Europe (75%), as well as the highest employment rate since records began, and the lowest unemployment rate for a generation (3.2%).

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20860 by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005, whether the Scottish Prison Service aims to meet or exceed performance targets set by ministers.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service aims to deliver Key Performance Indicators set by ministers and reported to Parliament. Figures contained in previous years’ SPS annual reports and the Decade of Achievement paper published by SPS in 2003 indicate that the agency has been successful in surpassing most of its targets over the last 10 years.

  Our performance results for 2005-06 will be published in the SPS annual report.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands is covered by the term "prisoner".

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21502 on 14 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20862 by Cathy Jamieson on 12 December 2005, what the difference is between registered mental health nurses and "nursing staff with mental nursing skills and qualifications".

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Nursing staff may have mental health nursing skills and qualifications but not have undergone the registration process as defined by the Nursing Midwifery Council (formerly the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting).

Public Sector Finance

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in respect of disclosing public sector comparator calculations on PFI and PPP contracts and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Final Business Case of a PPP project that has reached financial close contains calculations on the Public Sector Comparator. Since June 1999, Scottish Executive policy has been to publish Final Business Cases, having due regard to issues of commercial confidentiality.

Rural Communities

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what key infrastructure elements and services its Environment and Rural Affairs Department considers should be in place to make rural communities, such as the Scottish Borders, sustainable at a time when such areas have a growing elderly population.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive recognises the challenges posed by an ageing population that local authorities and others involved in local policy and service delivery face. These local bodies are best placed to assess the needs of their communities, through engaging in the community planning process, when planning infrastructure and key services. The role of the Executive is to encourage and support Community Planning Partnerships in their improvement of service provision in rural areas, not to prescribe a single blueprint of what those services should be.

School Transport

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that coaches, buses and minibuses, hired under contract by education authorities to provide school transport services, are appropriate for that service.

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that education authorities stipulate the maximum age of coaches, buses and minibuses, hired under contract to provide school transport services.

Peter Peacock: It is for education authorities themselves to set and agree the terms and conditions of school transport contracts, and to put in place arrangements for monitoring performance. Scottish Executive guidance includes advice that the contractor’s staff and vehicles should meet both statutory obligations and any additional requirements set by the authority.

School Transport

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which education authorities have signed contracts stipulating that coach, bus and minibuses must have seatbelts fitted for the provision of school transport services and when these contracts were signed.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is not held centrally.

Schools

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in ensuring that new school projects managed by public private partnerships encourage the use of biomass heating systems.

Robert Brown: While sustainable development, including energy use, is a key aspect of our School Estate Strategy, the type of heating in individual schools must remain a matter for local decision whatever the means of procurement.

Scottish Executive Correspondence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its procedures are for acknowledging and replying to email inquiries from members of the public and what targets have been set for the length of time it should take to acknowledge and reply to such inquiries.

Ms Margaret Curran: Replies to e-mails are sent as quickly as possible and within 20 working days of receipt. If for any reason a full reply cannot be sent within 20 working days, an interim reply is sent explaining the reason for the delay and giving an indication of when a full reply can be expected. These standards apply to all our customers.

  Automatic acknowledgements are sent to e-mails addressed to the Scottish ministers mailbox.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21248 by Patricia Ferguson on 12 December 2005, what efficiency savings  sportscotland has already achieved and where these savings have been reallocated.

Patricia Ferguson: Sportscotland had undergone significant organisational restructuring in recent years to provide a more responsive service to client and partner groups.   Sportscotland commissioned a report by KPMG with the specific objectives of identifying how it could deliver much stronger partnerships with its key partners with less bureaucracy. This led to  sportscotland amalgamating their separate funding streams and consolidating their operations into their headquarters building at South Gyle.

  As set out in the answer to question S2W-21248, under the Efficient Government initiative, sportscotland has been asked to deliver further efficiency savings of £200,000 by 2007-08.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funding for sports facilities announced on 20 December 2005 is Exchequer or lottery funding and over what period of time the funding will be made available.

Patricia Ferguson: The awards announced on 20 December were funded from  sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme, which is a combination of Exchequer and Lottery funds. The awards made are set out in the following table. Recipients must be in a position to start the relevant project within one year of the offer of award date and complete the work within two years of the offer of award date. Further information on specific awards can be obtained from  sportscotland direct.

  

Project
Location
Award(£)


Spartans Community Football Academy
Edinburgh
400,000


Greenfield Football Centre
Glasgow
200,000


Aulton Pavilion and Pitch Developments
Aberdeen
450,000


Bayhead Pitch Development Programme
Stornoway
115,920


Point Sport and Recreation Association
Nr Stornoway
139,000


Additional Changing Rooms and Referees Room
Livingston
153,455


Transition Extreme Sports Centre
Aberdeen
150,000


New Clubhouse Facilities
Edinburgh
125,000


East Lothian Yacht Club Equipment Project
North Berwick
33,500


Tennis Court Floodlighting
Nairn
11,000


Whinhill Junior Golf Practice Area
Greenock
29,400


Compendium Park
Glasgow
195,427


 
 
£2,002,702



  Note: Those projects in italics received Exchequer funds.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Scottish domiciled students have taken out a student loan in each year of operation of the student loans scheme; of this, what percentage took out the full loan in each such year, and what projections it has made for future years.

Nicol Stephen: The following table details the number and percentage of full-time, Scottish domiciled higher education students who took out a student loan with the student loans company for each year since the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) started administering loan entitlement in 1999-2000. The percentage taking out the full loan in each year is also shown.

  Prior to 1999-2000 students applied for a loan through their institution, and data for that time are not held centrally. Student numbers for 2004-05 have not yet been released.

  

Academic Year
Full-Time, Scottish Domiciled HE Students1
Total Number of Loans Taken Out2
Percentage of Scottish Domiciled Students Taking out a Student Loan
Percentage Taking Out the Full Loan2


1999-2000
121,020
78,395
64.8%
93%


2000-01
123,920
84,565
68.2%
94%


2001-02
126,605
90,580
71.5%
95%


2002-03
127,310
91,450
71.8%
94%


2003-04
129,620
89,525
69.1%
92%



  Notes:

  1. Higher Education Statistics Agency and Scottish Funding Councils data.

  2. Student Loans Company data.

  All numbers in this table (other than percentages) are rounded up or down to the nearest five.

  The Scottish Executive does not produce specific projections on the number of students taking out a student loan in future years.

Telecommunications

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the planning guidelines for mobile phone masts, in light of the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks updating its opinion on possible effects of electromagnetic fields.

Johann Lamont: The working group established by the EC Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks to update the previous opinion on electromagnetic fields met first in September 2005. No advice has yet emerged.

  We will consider any forthcoming findings of the scientific committee, and any related advice from the Health Protection Agency, who advise the Executive on radiation protection issues, in due course. I refer the member to my answer to question S2W-21551 on 22 December 2005, which sets out our intention to begin a review of our planning guidance on radio telecommunications development in late 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Waste Management

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support local authorities in finding alternatives to landfill.

Ross Finnie: Support for all local authorities has been made available through the Strategic Waste Fund to facilitate recycling of household waste. We have also asked local authorities to submit Strategic Outline Cases, by the end of January 2006, for other infrastructure to divert waste away from landfill.

Whisky Industry

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations its Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department has made to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency regarding the impact of the Water Environment Charging Scheme on the Scotch whisky industry.

Allan Wilson: The Water Division Team in the Environment and Rural Affairs Department are responsible for direct liaison with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

  The Scottish Executive has already had extensive discussions on the Controlled Activities Regulations with the CBI, Scotch Whisky Association, other industry bodies and individual firms at official and ministerial level. Dialogue with industry is continuing.